


Falling In Love At An All You Can Eat Buffet Is Unusual, But Not Unheard Of

by TheseusInTheMaze



Series: Road Trip Love Story [1]
Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Anxiety, Awkward Conversations, Crying, F/M, First Kiss, M/M, Making Out, Polyamory, Road Trip, romantic feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-03-30 04:57:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13943070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheseusInTheMaze/pseuds/TheseusInTheMaze
Summary: Ross, Holly, and Dan go on a short road trip.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HerbertBest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerbertBest/gifts).



> Edited by Angel!

"Why are we driving to this con?"

Ross was pouting as Holly loaded up the car.

"Because it's cheaper than buying three plane tickets," said Holly.

"Why am I going to this?"

"Because you're going to be pitching your cartoon, and I've got a vendor's table, and Dan is the guest of honor," said Holly, keeping her voice calm and chill.

Her own nerves were a bit frayed.

A long car ride with Dan and Ross was nice in some ways.

Ross was... well, he was Ross.

He was her husband, her best friend, the love of her life.

And Dan was... Dan. 

Dan was someone who she had been having complicated feelings about as of late, for a whole bunch of complicated reasons.

She didn't need to poke that.

Especially when it was this early.

"And you've got -"

"The motel reservations," Holly said, "and the map. And the thing telling us where to get vegetarian food. Okay?"

"... okay," said Ross, and he leaned over, kissing her on the temple.

She sighed, and leaned against him, as the two of them stood in front of her car. 

"So," said Ross. "Shall we?"

"Let us."

* * *

Dan was standing in front of his house with a suitcase next to him, and he looked sleepy.

His ridiculous curly hair was tied back from his face, and he was holding a travel mug painted with himself and Brian. 

"Hi," Dan said, when they parked in front of him. “Do you have room for my shit?"

"You should have gone to the bathroom _before_ you came to get picked up," Ross said, in a slightly sleepy tone.

There was a beat, and then Dan and Ross were both snickering.

Holly rolled her eyes.

"Put your stuff in the back," said Holly, indicating over her shoulder with her thumb.

"Right," said Dan.

There were assorted noises, and then he was going into the back seat, and he was leaning back against the seat, his eyes half shut, his expression sleepy.

There were dark circles under his eyes.

"You look like absolute shit, man," said Ross.

"Gee, thanks," said Dan. 

"So are we going?"

"We're going," said Holly, and she put the car in gear. 

* * * 

Dan was a surprisingly easy travel companion.

Mainly because he just slept, his long legs tucked under himself, and he had his head on the window.

"He looks cute when he's asleep," Ross said, his tone conspiratorial, his voice low.

Holly rolled her eyes, but she was grinning a little bit in spite of herself.

They'd had a lot of talks lately, about opening their marriage, about crushes.

About Ross's... bisexuality? Pansexuality? 

About the fact that Ross was starting to notice dudes, in one capacity or another. 

And the air in the car was full of... something. 

Something tense, something that felt like a promise, something like anxiety. 

Holly's knuckles were white on the steering wheel, and she kept glancing over at Dan's face.

They'd... they'd talked about Dan, too.

A few "what if" conversations, some "wouldn't it be nice" things. 

They both liked Dan.

Liked him to the point of having a.... certain kind of conversation about him. 

But how to float it by Dan?

How to even make this work?

Was there a this to work in the first place?

"Holly," Ross said.

"Mmm?"

Holly blinked at him.

"You're starting to get spacey. Let's switch."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," said Ross. "I need to pee anyway. We can stop at the gas station."

"Thanks for sharing that," said Dan.

They both jumped, and they glanced back.

Dan was sitting up, and he was rubbing his eyes, his expression still sleepy.

"Good nap? You were out for a few hours."

"How long have we been driving?"

"It's about eleven," said Holly.

"You guys wanna get lunch at some point?"

Dan stretched, and his back made noises like someone tap dancing over a bag of potato chips.

"That cannot be healthy," said Ross, twisting around in a position that could made Holly's own spine wince in sympathy. 

"Probably not," Dan agreed, his tone affable. 

"Ross, you end up cracking like a bowl of rice krispies every time you stand up," Holly reminded Ross, as they pulled into the gas station.

"Well, yes, but I'm not the one on trial here," Ross said.

"I wasn't aware there was a trial," Dan said. 

Holly snorted, and she got out of the car, stretching, her arms over her head.

She glanced over to her side, and she saw Dan and Ross both staring at her, then carefully looking away.

... huh.

There had been some... interest, sort of?

Dan had been looking at her a certain way, since they'd had a whole talk about polyamorous relationships. 

And now... hmm.

"Hols," said Dan, and he put one of his big hands on her upper arm.

"Hm?"

"How about you sit in the back? You can lie down, catch some shut eye, at least until lunch."

"Do I look like that much of a zombie?"

"A little bit," Dan said, and he smiled at her. 

"Aw, thank you," she said. "That was really sweet." 

"I do my best," he demurred. 

Holly... blushed, and she didn't know why she was blushing, except that she was sliding into the back seat of the car, and there was Dan's sweater.

He'd left it lumped up on one side, and she lay on her side, cushioning her head on it, taking in the scent of him, and then she was letting her eyes slide shut, pulling a bit of the sweater over her eyes. 

She began to drowse when Ross turned the car on, and they began to drive.

* * *

"So you guys are, like, completely open?"

Holly woke up to the sun in her face, but she stayed lying down, keeping the sweater over her face.

"Not, like... super, super open," said Ross, and he was quiet as he drove. "It's not like we're swingers. But theoretically if I found someone I really liked I could date them, or if she found someone that she liked, she'd date them."

"What if there was some woman who you guys both liked. Because Holly is pan, right?"

"Yeah, Holly is pan. Although... I'd be okay with a dude. Maybe. If it was the right dude."

Holly resisted the urge to facepalm; Ross wasn't subtle at the best of times, let alone when it was something he was trying to be subtle with. 

"The right dude?"

Dan sounded... nervous.

Huh.

Dan didn't come off as being that homophobic, so he probably wasn't that nervous about being in a car with a dude who was interested in dudes.

"So... what kinda guys does Holly like?"

Dan's voice was also overly conversational.

... huh.

"You'd have to ask her," said Ross, and Holly was eternally grateful for that.

Having her husband tell the guy she might have a crush on who was also a dear friend... that would be too weird. 

Too high school.

"... what kind of guys do you like?"

Dan sounded nervous.

Holly rolled over, so that she was facing the back seat, and she tried to come off as asleep.

She didn't have it in her right now to join into the conversation. 

"I like... I dunno," Ross said finally. "I know it when I see it."

"Do you have, like, examples?"

Ross made an amused (or possibly annoyed?) noise, and Holly was grinning a bit as she began to fall asleep again.

"I mean, who doesn't want to fuck Jason Mamoa," she heard, and then she was back asleep.

* * * 

She woke up when the car stopped, and Dan was looking over the back of the seat at her, looking faintly bashful. 

"It's time for lunch," said Dan. "You think you're ready for food?"

"I could be," Holly said, and she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

Her head was full of the scent of cinnamon and sandalwood, and whatever it was that made Dan smell like himself and not just an incense shop.

... wow, she was loopy.

"Oh, honey," Ross said, and then there were two different hands going to her face. 

Ross traced the crease along one cheek, and Dan tucked her hair behind her ear.

The air turned to ivory for a moment, solid and unmoving, and there were two different sets of eyes staring into her own, and her heart was beating very loudly in her ears.

Oh _god_ , there some something happening, and she didn't know what it was. 

And then someone's car alarm went off, and they all jumped, pulling back, breaking eye contact.

"So," Dan said, in a cheerful voice, "this is the place you made reservations at?"

"I mean," Holly said, fussing in the mirror so that she looked less like she had been napping in the backseat, "I just made sure that they had vegetarian options."

"Right," said Dan, and he got out of the car, stretching his long legs.

Holly got out as well, and she was stiff from staying in one position for such a long time.

The light was very bright.

It was midday, and Holy was somewhat shocked to find that she was hungry.

* * *

It was a diner.

An honest to god roadside diner, the kind that looked like it had been extruded from whatever it was that made train cars. 

There were sticky vinyl booths, and the menus looked to be miles long.

Holly scooted into a booth, and Ross scooted to sit across from her. 

And then there was an awkward moment, where Dan just... stood there, clearly unable to decide where he wanted to sit.

Holly half expected him to ask for a chair, and then he was sliding in next to her.

The booth was small enough that their thighs were touching, and then his leg drew back, and the two of them were sitting there.

Ross was watching the both of them, and he was... smirking.

Jerk.

Dan and Holly both reached for a menu at the same time, and there was a little zap of warmth.

They both blushed, hands withdrawing.

Ross's grin got bigger.

Mega, biggest jerk. 

She prodded him with her foot, and he prodded her back, except....

"Ross, if you're trying to play footsie with Holly, she's a few inches to the left."

"I'm not trying to play footsie with Holly," Ross said, his tone deadpan, and then there was a foot against her ankle, and the side of Ross's foot was pushing their two legs together. 

"Ross," said Dan, "the fuck are you doing?"

"You and Holly should sit closer together," said Ross, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"... why?"

"A whole bunch of reasons," said Ross. "You guys seem like you'd be good for each other."

"Seriously?!"

Holly gave Ross a Look.

He grinned at her toothily.

"I'm gonna keep sitting like this until you guys just admit to it," said Ross.

"Admit to what?"

"That you've got an attraction or a crush or _something_ ," said Ross.

... she had _really_ missed most of that last bit of conversation, hadn't she?

"Is this really how you want to be doing this?"

Dan sounded incredulous.

"We're about to spend the night in a motel together," said Ross. "If we're gonna be having feelings at each other, I'd rather we do it now.”

"Barely about," Holly argued. "We've got hours yet."

"Yeah," said Ross. "Hours in a car. Can we please talk about it now, whatever it happens to be? And my legs are getting tired."

"Put your legs down," said Holly. "I mean it."

"Okay, okay," said Ross, and his legs were back down. 

Holly and Dan's legs stayed pressed against each other. 

"So what are we doing now?"

Dan looked nervous.

"We're going to have an awkward conversation," said Holly, and she was staring at her own hands. 

Fucking Ross.

"So," said Ross, "while you were sleeping, we had a whole conversation about the fact that, you know, we're doing the open thing, and also that I'd be interested in trying something new, and also how Dan’s terminally single - "

"I am _not_ terminally single, I just do things differently from you," said Dan.

"Regardless," said Ross, "since we're trying to do the open thing, and you're not currently taken or monogamous -"

"I'm not... not-monogamous either," Dan said. 

"Can either of you finish a sentence?"

Holly's nerves were beginning to get frayed.

Her hands knuckles were white on her water glass.

"Of course," said Dan. "Sorry."

"I'd finish a sentence if Dan would just let me," Ross groused, but she could tell he was kidding. 

Holly snorted.

"Okay," said Holly. "So."

"So?"

"What do you want, Dan?" 

Holy twisted around, to look Dan straight in the face. 

He was looking nervously at her, his eyes darting to Ross's face.

"I want to go to a con with two of my best friends, and then come home, and continue living my life," said Dan. 

His eyes were avoiding Holly's.

Holly was searching his face for... something.

She wasn't sure.

But he was blushing.

"And what do you want, Ross?"

"I mean," Ross said casually, "I'd be pretty down for making out with Dan. Or for you to make out with Dan."

"Um," said Holly, and then the waitress came over, and saved them from more of this awkward conversation, thank fuck.

After they ordered, they were very much... not talking about all of that.

At all.

Dan kept his leg up against Holly's, though. 

His skin was very warm, even through the denim of his jeans. 

* * * 

They ate in silence, and then they were back in the car. 

"I'll drive," said Dan. "If you guys are okay with that."

"I'm good," said Ross, and he stretched, his back arching. "I can have a nap in the back seat."

His shirt rode up, and Holly wanted to touch that bit of skin, feel the warmth of Ross's skin and the slightly wiry feel of his body hair. 

"Okay," said Holly, and she sat in the passenger seat, and took out a book. 

* * *

"You know," Dan said, when they'd been driving for almost two hours, "you never said what you want?"

"Hm?" 

Holly looked up from her book.

"We heard what Ross wanted, and we heard what I want," said Dan. "But I don't know what you want."

"I want a lot of things," said Holly, leaning back in her seat and watching the scenery going by. 

Dan snorted.

"What would you like from me, specifically?"

"I mean," Holly said, "you made it pretty clear that we're your friends."

Did she want it to stay that way?

Did she want it to be something else?

She sighed, a long, almost mournful sound.

"I'm sorry," said Dan, and he reached out for her with one hand, as if to reassure her.

She dodged it.

"I... I appreciate the thought, Dan," she said carefully, "but I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable with... intimate touching, if you just want to be friends. Not for a bit."

"Wait, intimate touch?"

Dan looked confused.

"Dan," Holly said, and holy shit, she was finally losing her temper, that was impressive, "I have feelings for you, okay? And I don't know what those feelings are, but if you don't have them for me, I don't want to make myself look stupid by... overthinking stuff, and it's a lot harder to not overthink stuff when there's not stuff to think about in the first place!"

... and then there was silence, and Dan's hands were both on the wheel.

Holly was crying, and it was loud in the small space, far too loud, and the space was far too small, but they were on the highway, and it wasn't like they could just pull over.

Mutely, Dan offered Holly a napkin he'd dug out of his pocket.

She dabbed at her eyes furiously, still sobbing, and she shot him a look.

He looked faintly panicky.

Of course he did.

"You don't... you don't have to have feelings, or the... the potential for feelings, even," said Holly, and she wiped her eyes, "but I don't like mixed signals. And maybe I should have told you about all of this beforehand, but then we were planning for the con and -"

"Yeah, I understand," said Dan, and he sighed, a bone rattling sound. "I'm sorry. And... I mean, I'll be really honest, you kind of caught me off guard."

"Mmm?"

"Well," said Dan, and he was staring straight ahead of him with dogged determination, "Ross is all about, like... he was talking about how he likes dudes, but he'd be afraid of getting together with some random dude, for a bunch of reasons. And I kinda got the idea that you had a thing for me, since, uh... you're not exactly subtle."

Holly flushed - she was twisting the napkin around and around her fingers.

"And... I know how good you and Ross are together. And I wouldn't want to ruin any of that. And I also wouldn't want to feel like the eternal third wheel, you know? And I don't know if I... if I like guys, the way Ross seems to like guys. Or the way that Ross... seems to want to be liked. By a guy."

Holly blew her nose.

"And that'd be unfair. Especially if I end up mainly being into you, but not Ross, because... you know, you guys are a matched pair."

"We're not salt and pepper shakers, Dan," Holly said. "You can... I mean, if you're interested in one of us, you don't have to be interested in the other."

This was all happening so fast.

A lot faster than she had thought it would.

"I... I don't want to just say no," said Dan, and now he looked nervous. "Because, like, what if I change my mind, but that door is already closed. But what if I'm going along with it just because I think I might want it, and I don't know?"

"... that's the dumbest shit I've ever heard," said Ross, as he was sitting up. 

Dan made a startled noise, and the car jerked. 

"Ross," Holly said, "don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

Ross kept his tone teasing. 

"Don't poke out the faults in my faulty logic," Dan scolded.

"If I don't, who will?"

"Holly," Ross said, "Arin. Suzy. Barry. Brian - _especially_ Brian...."

"I get the point," Dan huffed.

"We probably shouldn't have just sprung this on you when you were stuck with us for two days," said Holly, her tone sympathetic.

"Eh, at least we can deal with it faster," said Dan, in a surprisingly acquiescent tone of voice. 

"Deal with it?"

Holly's stomach lurched.

"Well," said Dan, "um. We could do the adult thing and talk about this shit while not in public?"

"... fair," said Holly, and she leaned back into her seat.

She kept glancing at Dan in profile - he had a lovely profile, and she wanted to trace her finger along the line from his hairline to his nose.

... oh god.

She had it bad.

She huffed out a sigh, and both men shot her a concerned look.

"I'm fine," she said quickly. "Sorry. Okay. Um."

"So what's your ideal situation?"

Ross was interrogating this like he approached any other problem - he'd make jokes 'til the cows came home, and then he'd ferret out a solution. 

"I... I don't know," said Holly, and she sighed. "I mean, I didn't... I haven't planned that far ahead yet."

"That far ahead?"

"Like... I could see us setting up this stupid conversation, but I could never get past that point," Holly said, and she was sheepish, looking down at her lap.

She'd really twisted the napkin apart.

Oops. 

"Like I said," Ross said from behind them, and Holly twisted around to look at him, "I like the idea of you guys getting together, or me and Dan getting together. I wouldn't be... you know, I wouldn't be too upset if you, Dan, and Holly got together, and I wasn't... part of it."

He was speaking cheerfully, but there was a tightness around his jaw that Holly knew. 

"I don't... I don't want to have to choose," Dan said finally, and he sounded frustrated. "I don't know what I want, I just know I'm, you know, curious, and I don't want to have to make promises to try dating or whatever, when for all I know it'll just not work for me."

"Oh," said Holly. 

Why was her stomach dropping like a stone? 

These things were always complicated.

"But no matter what," Dan said, "I want to be your friend. Both of your friends. I like both of you a lot. I... I love you guys, and no matter what happens with... you know, stuff, I don't want it to be other stuff. I want it to us."

Holly tried to parse that.

"Do you want to address all of this when we get back from the con?"

"No," said Dan. "I wanna talk about this now."

"Okay," said Holly.

"I'll try anything a few times," Dan said finally. "I mean... I don't want you guys to think I'm just trying you like a ride at a county fair or whatever, but I also don't want you guys to try to make some kind of life plan with me." 

"What would... what would you even want?"

Ross's voice was quiet.

"I dunno," Dan said, and he made a vague hand gesture, inasmuch as he could while holding on to steering wheel. "I'm interested in... I don't know, going on dates. With both of you. Or each of you."

"Especially Holly," Ross said, and his voice sounded a little sad, to Holly's well trained ear.

"I didn't say that," Dan countered. "I have more... experience with her. Or people like her, I should say."

"Where are you meeting people like Holly? I wanna meet more people like Holly."

"Oh my _god_ , Ross," Holly groaned, and she covered her eyes with both hands.

She was starting to giggle.

"Well, it's, you know, I know how to do stuff with women. All my experience is with women. Not so much with men."

"Oh," said Ross. "I mean, I don't... think it's that different."

"No?"

"I mean," Dan said, and his expression was getting philosophical, "what counts as second base, since there's no tits, and I've seen you topless, so would that even be, like... exciting?"

"I'm totally exciting when I'm not wearing a shirt," Ross said. "Sexist thing on legs, I am."

"Maybe it's just the difference between sexy naked and not sexy naked," said Holly.

"What's the difference between the two of them?"

Dan looked interested. 

"Like... okay," Holly said, and she was trying to think. "Like, if you see me getting naked and it's just... me going to take a shower, it's different from me getting naked for sexy reasons."

"You'd still be sexy," said Ross, with some authority. "Because, you know, you're you. And you being naked is sexy as hell."

"I've never seen you naked," Dan said, "but he's totally right."

Holly rolled her eyes.

"But you know, like there's a difference, right?"

"I guess," Ross said. 

"I dunno, if you saw me naked from the shower versus naked for... the sake of sexy, would it make a difference?"

She tried to imagine Dan naked, and she bit her lip, rubbing her thighs together.

_Oh_. 

She licked her lips. 

"I don't know," Holly said honestly. 

"We should test it," Ross said, as if that was just a thing to suggest.

"What?"

Holly looked over her shoulder at Ross.

"We should test it," Ross said again. "Dan, you should get naked in our hotel room." 

"I should just get naked," Dan said, his tone deadpan.

"We could have a threesome," Ross said, and Dan made a startled noise. 

"What?" 

"What?!"

"I mean," Ross said, "it would be an easier way to make things work, right?" 

"Make... things... work?"

"Okay, maybe not make things work, but it'd be a good way of seeing if things would work."

"What, seeing if we can all have sex together, it means that we should date?"

"Possibly," Ross said. 

"Oh my god," Holly groaned, and she covered her face with both hands. 

"You're not disagreeing with me," Ross pointed out.

"That was a fucking stupid thing to suggest," said Dan. 

"But you're not saying no," Ross pointed out. 

"... well, okay," said Holly. 

"You guys know I'm all for it," said Ross. "So I guess I'll leave it in your capable hands." 

“Capable,” Dan echoed. 

“Right,” said Holly. 

“There’s a rest stop coming up,” said Dan. “You guys wanna switch places?”

“I can drive for a bit,” said Holly. 

“Okay,” said Dan. 

And then the car went quiet.

* * *

The car stayed quiet, until they reached the gas station, when everyone stood up and rearranged each other. 

And then Dan was looking at Holly, his expression thoughtful. 

“You know what?”

“Hm?” 

Holly had her hands behind her head, and was stretching, her back arching. 

“I’d be willing to, you know… maybe not a threesome. But maybe… you know, some form of… some form of intimacy.”

Holly raised an eyebrow.

“I want to kiss you right now,” Dan said. “But it only seems fair… if I’m gonna kiss you, I should kiss Ross, and I don’t know if Ross wants me to kiss him.”

“I’d be okay with you kissing me,” said Ross, and he was leaning against the car, his expression a study in nonchalance.

Holly could read the tension in his posture, and he was flexing his jaw. 

“I’ve never actually kissed a dude before,” said Dan, and he looked nervous.

“You think I have?”

Holly rolled her eyes, and she stood on her tiptoes, grabbing Dan by the sides of the head and pressing their mouths together.

Dan made a surprised noise, and then he pulled back, looking at her with a nervous expression.

“Um,” he said.

She smiled at him, also nervous.

Her heart was beating very fast, and her face was very warm.

Oh. 

Wow.

He looked down at her, and his eyes were very brown.

And then he took a step back, and a step towards Ross.

He put a questioning hand on Ross’s shoulder, and then Ross’s face was turning up, and Dan was kissing Ross, and wow, that was… that was certainly interesting. 

There wasn’t a flash of jealousy that hit her, which was a bit of a surprise.

She hadn’t realized she’d be okay with it.

Was she okay with this?

She didn’t know.

But her heart was beating very fast and her cheeks were very pink.

Um.

“Are you okay?”

Ross turned to look at Holly, and so did Dan.

They both looked a bit shellshocked.

“Yeah,” said Holly. “How are you guys feeling?”

“Fine,” said Ross, and he was shoving his shirt down in a way that was… well, it was familiar. 

And Dan was stepping back, and he looked embarrassed, licking his lips. 

“So you want to… I don’t know, have a threesome?”

Ross was entirely too casual. 

“I don’t know yet,” Dan said.

“I don’t either,” Holly admitted.

Did she?

What _did_ she want?

She wanted… she wanted something. 

She sighed, and she leaned heavily against the car, covering her face with both hands.

“I don’t know,” she said thickly.

“I mean,” said Ross, “there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Ross’s hip was pressed against her own, and then Dan’s arm was cautiously reaching out, his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m, uh… I’d like to kiss you again,” Dan said, and he looked embarrassed. “That was nice.”

She peeked out at him. 

“You really thought so?”

“Oh yeah,” said Dan. “Definitely.”

His big hand squeezed her shoulder, and she sighed, leaning against the both of them.

This was… weird.

But it was nice.

“Can I sit up front for a bit?”

“Sure,” said Dan, and then he was climbing back into the car, stretching out awkwardly in the back seat, his hair a red-brown halo around his face. 

* * *

They listened to the radio, as they made their way towards the motel.

It had been pretty quiet, for whatever reason, but now they were picking up on on of the weird stuff.

There was some occult radio station playing, and it felt like it should have been much later at night, to hear someone talking earnestly about UFOs and the lizard people between some admittedly pretty catchy music, and then she’d make eye contact with Dan or Ross, and they’d grin, and then she as grinning.

There was a… lightness to the air in the car, an almost giddiness.

It was like laughing gas, making her head light and her heart beat a little faster, every time she made eye contact.

Ross was blushing, and he’d occasionally look up from what he was reading to snicker, or to make fun of the person who was talking.

The sun set, and Holly caught Dan’s eye in the rearview mirror; his hair was full of flashes of copper, and then she glanced at Ross, and his profile was gilded in gold.

Her heart sang like a starling; trilling, bits and pieces of other songs, all jumbled together to make some original but very strange song.

Oh _god_.

She had it bad.

She had it really bad.

* * *

They stopped at an all you can eat Chinese buffet. 

It had a whole section that was just vegetarian food, which was why it had been recommended, but Dan was looking down at his plate with a slightly mournful expression.

“Are you okay?”

“These kinds of places are always wasted on me,” said Dan. “Since I can’t eat that much in one go.” 

“Can’t you take some of it with you?”

“Nope, you’re not allowed to,” said Ross, indicating a sign. 

“At least it isn’t something like Golden Corral,” said Dan.

“What’s Golden Corral?”

“It’s this chain of… questionable restaurants,” said Dan. “We’ve got a few of them in New Jersey. I don’t think they’re a thing in California.”

They were sitting around a circular table, and everyone’s knees were pressed into someone else’s.

It was… it was probably a bit too small for all of them to sit there, but Ross had suggested it, and who was Holly to turn it down?

Holly kept bumping elbows with Dan, and then they’d each make vague apologetic noises.

“How questionable are we talking?” 

“... pretty bad,” said Dan. 

“Health department bad?”

“Okay, not quite _that_ bad,” said Dan. “But I’ve known people who got food poisoning.”

“... and you kept going?”

Holly was torn between disgust and vile, vile curiosity.

“I mean,” said Dan, “they’re open late, and I used to get _really_ drunk.”

“... huh,” said Ross.

“Yeah,” said Dan. “I had a misbegotten youth.”

Holly snorted. 

And each of their knees were touching, and okay, maybe Holly’s heart was doing a little flutter every time she made eye contact, but… this was… this was good.

This was the kind of good she wasn’t expecting, she hadn’t even thought about hoping for.

And okay, maybe she was putting the cart before the horse, but… she could bask in this moment. 

Just for a little while.

At least as long as they were sitting here.

Ross and Dan were teasing each other, the way they always did, and she watched them, her eyes overbright, overfull. 

Who knew she’d begin to fall in love in an all you can eat buffet?

Was this love?

She could worry about that later. 

Right now was for the food, and for their conversation to wash over her like a wave.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure if I wanted this to be two different fic, or if I wanted it to have chapters. I think it works better as a chaptered fic, ultimately.

The inside of the car was very dark, and very quiet.

Holly was sitting in the back seat with Dan, and they both had the windows rolled down.

Ross was in front, and he was surprisingly quiet.

There was music playing softly on the radio, and the road was empty.

Holly was acutely aware of Dan's body next to her own, the way his body heat seemed to be radiating off of him.

Was he usually this warm, or was she just... more aware of it than usual? 

They'd kissed. 

They'd talked about feelings.

And now they were driving down a long and winding road, towards the motel they were going to be staying at.

The moon rose overhead, grinning at them over the telephone poles like the world's largest spotlight.

Dan had one hand out the window, and his other hand was resting on the seat, right next to Holly's.

"When I was a kid," Dan said, and there was a moment, as everyone adjusted to the sound of someone speaking, after almost half an hour of quiet, "I used to think that, um, that when you were driving and you stuck your hand out of the window, you were sliding your fingers through God's beard."

"Yeah?"

Holly looked over at him - his face was shadowy in the moonlight, black and white in turn.

She wanted to reach out, trace the different spots, see her own shadow leaving darkness across his face.

Her heart was beating very fast.

"Yeah. Because it feels so silky." 

Dan looked down and to the side.

"There's a scenic overlook," Ross said, and indeed, they saw the little sign next to the highway. "Would you guys wanna go see it?"

"Yeah," said Holly, even though it was nearly eleven o'clock at night and they were going to have to check in to the hotel and get up early in the morning for a con.

But who cared, when the air was like sweet wine, and the shadows were as deep as holes in the ground? 

"Sure," said Dan. 

* * * 

They stood on the edge of the overlook, a wooden barrier between them and the edge of a cliff.

"It feels like we're at the end of the Marianas Trench," Dan said, his voice quiet.

He was on Holly's left side. 

"How do you know about the Marianas Trench? I thought you were afraid of the ocean."

That was from Ross, on her right side.

"I mean, I can be afraid of the ocean and still know about it," said Dan, and he sounded slightly offended.

Holly reached out, impulsive, and she pulled him closer, so that they were hip to hip.

Dan made a startled noise, and looked down at her.

She made to withdraw her arm, but then he was resting an arm around her shoulders. 

His hand was resting on Ross's shoulder.

Ross's hip was already pressed against Holly's, and his arm went around her middle, his fingers hooking into the belt loop of Dan's jeans. 

Dan sighed, a long, sad sound, and he leaned on Holly. 

Not his full weight, but enough of it that she could feel it ground her.

She was almost painfully aware of her own body - of the way gravity pulled it, even as her heart seemed to be filling up, so buoyant that she would drift off into the atmosphere, if not for the way they were grounding her. 

Dan pressed a nervous kiss to her temple, and she leaned into it, still holding on to Ross, looking out over the overlook.

They couldn't see much of anything, as dark as it was, but the moon was so full that it was blotting out the stars, casting eerie shadows across everything.

It was almost like being on Mars. 

Only not, obviously, because... well, they were breathing, and the trees were moving raggedly in the breeze.

"I don't ever wanna leave here," Dan said, and his voice was very quiet.

He was facing towards Holly, and his breath ruffled the hair on the top of her head.

"Mmm?"

"This moment. I want it to be here. Forever."

"Oh," said Holly, and she licked her lips.

"It's nice," Ross agreed, and his voice was quiet as well.

Time seemed to freeze - the breeze ruffled across their faces, and the air was still thick and sweet.

Holly's heart was beating in her throat, in her ears, and then she was turning her face up and over, and she was kissing Dan, first on the cheek, then on the mouth. 

He sighed against her mouth, and Ross squeezed her fingers, as she turned her body around, so that she was pressed belly to belly with Dan.

She kissed him like it was the end of the world, like he was the only source of oxygen in the world.

Except he wasn't.

And then she was turning around, and she was kissing Ross, and Dan was pressed up against her as well, and that was familiar - his lips were hot, his tongue slick, and his nose was cold.

There was something growing in her chest, in her stomach.

A luminosity that would outshine the moon, if she wasn't careful.

Dan was kissing the back of her neck, and they were tentative little kisses, his facial stubble ticklish against her skin, almost rough, but not quite. 

She sighed, and her knees went a little weak as she lolled her head back, resting it on Dan's shoulder.

"God," Dan said, and his voice broke. "Hols, I...."

"You should kiss him," Holly said, and she wasn't sure if she was talking to Ross or to Dan, but she meant it.

"You think so?"

Ross's voice was deeper than usual, and he sounded... something.

Something she didn't entirely understand. 

But Ross was kissing Dan now, right over her shoulder, and she had her fingers in Ross's hair, and her other hand was on Dan's hip, pulling him closer to her, as they kissed over her shoulder, and she could hear the wet sounds of their kissing, lips against lips, tongues moving.

Dan's hand was moving from her hip to her belly, pressing on it, his hands spread out wide, and Ross was holding on to her hip with one hand, the other one in Dan's hair.

And then there was the sound of tires on asphalt, and the three of them sprang apart, like teenagers hearing a key in a lock.

"Oh," Holly said thickly, and she cleared her throat, and fanned her face.

They were each standing away from her now, and she was shaking, just a bit.

Her nipples were hard, and her heartbeat was throbbing like a broken tooth between her legs. 

Oh.

Oh, she wanted them both.

She wasn't even sure how she wanted them - did she want a quick fuck? Something long and drawn out? Something else?

But oh, she wanted it. 

She wanted Dan, she wanted Ross....

She wanted to be between their two bodies - she had an image of herself, naked, between the two of them, also naked, and she flushed so hard that she was a little bit surprised that she wasn't passing out. 

She was acutely aware of her breath, her lungs filling and emptying, her chest rising and falling.

"That was nice," Dan said, and he sounded slightly strained - it was enough to make her giggle, covering her mouth with one hand.

"You're a much better kisser than I thought you were," said Ross, his tone thoughtful.

He'd hooked a finger through Holly's jean again, and was leaning on the railing to the lookout.

It made his butt stick out at an appealing angle, and she caught Dan looking at it with an expression that could almost be read as appraising. 

"What do you mean, better than you thought I'd be?"

"You've got such a pointy face," said Ross. "I'd be afraid of kissing you and possibly getting speared by your nose. Or your chin."

"What do you mean, speared?"

"Maybe speared is the wrong term," Ross said, his tone thoughtful. "Sliced?"

"Oh my god, Ross," Holly said, and she nudged him in the side with her elbow.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing," Ross said. "I just hadn't expected to walk away from kissing you without my face at least a little cut up."

Holly rolled her eyes.

"I feel like there's something insulting in that," Dan said, his tone flat, but there was a hint of laughter behind it. "I'm not sure what, though."

"Well, congratulations," said Ross. "You're the first guy I've ever kissed."

"I hope I lived up to the hype."

"What hype? Is there hype about kissing guys?"

"I feel like Holly would be the one who'd be a better judge of that," said Dan.

"Why would you say that?"

"You've kissed more guys than either of us."

"... you're making some assumptions," said Holly.

"Fair enough," Dan said. "Sorry."

He took her hand in his, squeezing it.

She lifted his hand up to her lips, and she kissed the back of it. 

"I forgive you," she said. 

"Do I get forgiven?"

Ross put a hint of whine in his voice.

"I'll find it in my heart, somehow," Holly said.

"We should get going," Dan said, taking out his phone and checking the time. "I'd like to go to bed before three in the morning."

Holly flushed at the double entendre - was it even that?

Or was she reading too into things?

"You wanna drive, Hols?"

"Sure," said Holly, slightly dazed. 

The moment - whatever it had been - was broken, but there was still... something, lingering in the air like a haze off of the ocean.

* * *

Holly drove down the highway, occasionally passing by another car, but mostly they were alone.

Not a lot of people driving at this time of the night, it seemed.

Ross and Dan sat in the back seat together and they were talking about something quietly.

She was tuning in and out, like someone twisting the dial of a radio.

Then Dan cleared his throat, and he sounded embarrassed.

"If you guys, uh... if you'd be interested in... you know, being intimate. I'd, uh... I'd like to stop at a gas station."

Holly glanced into the rear view mirror, and made eye contact with him.

His whole face was dark red.

"Yeah?"

"Unless you guys packed condoms?"

"Oh!" 

"I don't think we packed any," said Ross. "Did we?"

"I didn't," Holly said. "If you did, I didn't see 'em."

"I didn't," said Ross. "How about you, Dan?"

"Why would I pack condoms?" 

Dan sounded slightly scandalized. 

"Maybe you were planning to seduce us over the dealer's table at the con," said Ross.

"... no," said Dan. "But if you guys want to, uh... would want to do anything, maybe it'd be best if we got some."

"Right," Holly said, and she licked her lips.

She was a grown woman; why was she so flustered at the idea of buying condoms?

It wasn't like she'd never bought them before. 

Hell, she'd bought them with Ross in tow before - they were adults, they bought the things they needed in day to day life, and one of the things needed in day to day life were condoms. 

They were no more embarrassing than deodorant or tampons or shampoo.

But doing it with _Dan_... and Dan was always talking about how big his penis was, what if they ended up buying condoms and they didn't fit?

"So are we stopping at the gas station?"

"Yeah," Holly said, her voice a little dazed. 

She put on her turn signal, and then they were pulling into the gas station, with its bright lights. 

* * *

"Do you have any, um... any allergies?"

Dan was standing in front of Holly and Ross, as the two of them got out of the car.

"I can't eat onions," said Ross, and he yawned. 

"I meant in terms of like, a latex allergy," Dan said, and he sounded like he was going to start to laugh. "Or, um, a... a brand of condoms that you prefer." 

"I'm good with just about anything," Ross said. 

"Okay," said Dan. "Got it. Do you have a preference, Holly?"

Holly shook her head - this was all so surreal.

Buying condoms in preparation for a threesome with Dan. 

What were the chances?

* * *

The gas station was very bright inside, and she blinked, rubbing her eyes.

Dan was making his way to the register, looking slightly sheepish, and Ross was making a beeline towards the wall of drink cooler doors.

Holly, lacking anything else to do, sidled over to the snack aisle, looking at things and not really seeing them.

Would the clerk put two and two together?

Would he realize that the three of them were planning on having sex?

... had they even planned to have sex?

Or were they just doing this in case something happened.

It would feel like a bit of a waste, to get safer sex supplies and then not have sex.

But she didn't want there to be the expectation that she was supposed to be having sex - hell, she didn't want either of the boys to feel like they had to have sex just because they were prepared for it.

"Holly," Ross said, and he was standing next to her, holding a bottle of some screaming blue soda, "you're chasing your tail."

"Hm?"

She looked at him, trying to come back from her woolgathering. 

"You're chasing yourself in circles in your head. I can tell."

She grinned at him in spite of herself, blushing a bit.

"How can you tell?"

"You get this look on your face, like you're trying to figure out some very intense math problem, and you start twisting your fingers together."

"Oh," said Holly, and she looked down at her hands.

They were, indeed, twisted, together - her knuckles cracked like someone biting into a potato chip.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want there to be an obligation to have sex," she blurted out.

"I don't think there's an obligation," said Ross. 

"Are you sure?"

"I'm pretty sure," said Ross. "Although you can ask Dan."

"Ask me what?"

Dan came down the aisle towards them, and he had a plastic bag stuffed into the pocket of his jeans, the handles trailing after him like some kind of flag.

"Do you feel obligated to have sex because we're getting condoms?"

Dan blinked, clearly not expecting that question.

"No?"

"Okay, good," said Ross, and he gave Holly a reassuring squeeze around the middle. "Does that help?"

"Yeah," Holly said, and indeed, she was breathing a little easier.

Maybe she was putting too much thought into this.

At the end of the day, it was still her and Dan and Ross, and they were friends. 

They were there for each other. 

And part of that was probably just being awkward as hell. 

… she hadn’t dated anyone in years. 

How the hell was she supposed to navigate this?! 

“So we’re good?”

“I’m gonna get some Twinkies,” said Holly, in a bit of a haze.

Was she freaking out?

It didn’t feel like freaking out - she wasn’t dissociating or panicking, she wasn’t on high alert.

Everything just had a slight air of the surreal.

Maybe it was because it was late at night - the gas station was like a little island of light, surrounded by the darkness on all sides.

Holly sighed, and she blinked down at the Twinkie packet in front of her.

They were key lime flavored.

She liked key lime.

Okay.

She could do this.

She bought her Twinkies, smiling at the clerk, and then they were heading back to the car, and Dan was practically whistling.

“So, uh, we’ve got a suite in the motel,” said Holly, when she was back in the passenger seat.

Ross was in the driver’s seat.

“Right,” said Dan. “I didn’t know motels had suites.”

“They’ve really gone up in how fancy they are,” said Dan. “I remember when the best you could hope for from a no tell motel was bed bugs.”

“You really think I’d book us a place with bed bugs?”

“No, no,” Dan said quickly.

“But yeah,” said Holly. “There’s a sofa bed for Dan, and there’s a bed for us.”

“Unless Dan wants to sleep with us,” Ross put in, his tone cheerful.

“I don’t think three people will fit onto one motel bed,” Dan said, and there was an almost manic cheerfulness to his voice.

“Yeah, you’re right,” said Ross. 

“I don’t know if I’m up for that level of bed sharing yet,” Holly said, and she was blushing.

“That level?” 

Holly made eye contact with Dan in the rear view mirror.

“Like… having sex is one thing,” she said, and okay, she was blushing a little bit, but just a bit. “But sharing a bed for things that aren’t sex, it feels… weird.”

“Weird?”

“Yeah. Like… it’s more vulnerable. If that makes sense?” 

“Yeah,” Ross said. “Dan might learn how much you fart in your sleep.”

“I don’t fart in my sleep!”

“Everyone farts in their sleep,” Dan opined from the back seat.

“Well, okay, maybe you’re right, but I don’t fart more than the average person.”

“But how would you know that? You’re asleep!”

“I feel like, if you fart enough, you’ll know.”

“Anyway, have you done a poll of how much other people fart in their sleep?”

“Can we _please_ stop talking about farting?” 

“I guess, if we must,” Ross said in a long suffering tone of voice.

“I’ve got other equally gross topics,” Dan chimed in.

“I hate both of you,” Holly said, her tone flat.

“No you don’t,” said Ross, and he patted her on the leg. 

“I’m not gonna share my Twinkies with either of you,” said Holly.

“How would you have shared them with me in the first place? There’s only two of them.”

“I was gonna give each of you some of mine. But now they’re all mine.”

“I don’t really eat Twinkies,” said Dan. “I don’t wanna worry about what kind of chemicals I might be putting in my body.”

“I’m sorry, Mister Giant-Vat-O’Skittles worries about what kinds of chemicals he’s putting in his body?”

Holly was surprised at her own vehemence at that.

“At least I’m not like ol’ picky pants over there,” Dan said, indicating Ross.

“I’m not that picky!”

“You won’t even eat tomatoes?”

“Children,” Holly said through clenched teeth, “I _will_ turn this car around.”

“Sorry,” Ross and Dan said at the same time.

“Okay,” said Holly, and then she was beginning to giggle, then to laugh.

Dan and Ross were both making various concerned noises, but Holly just kept laughing - kept laughing until she had to pull over to the shoulder and just cackle.

“Um, Hols?”

“I’m fine,” Holly said thickly, finally getting control of herself.

“You wanna trade?”

“We’re, like, ten minutes away from the motel,” said Holly. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You sure you don’t have another laughing fit in you?”

“I can hold them off,” Holly said.

“Okay, good,” said Dan. “I want to take a shower. I smell like car.”

“I’m getting the first shower,”said Holly. 

“Why do you get the first shower?”

“Because I reserved the room, and I planned the route,” said Holly.

“... fair enough,” said Dan. 

* * * 

They arrived at the motel.

Thankfully, it didn’t remind Holly of the Bates Motel.

It was your standard drive in hotel - a series of rooms in an “h” shape, with doors that opened to the parking lot. 

She checked them in, and then the three of them were shuffling into the room.

The walls were painted a dark, deep orange, and the bedspread looked like it was left over from the seventies.

“So,” said Dan. “Holly gets first shower?”

“Holly gets first shower,” said Holly, and she kicked her boots off and flopped back onto the bed.

“... you gonna get up and shower?”

Dan sounded faintly impatient.

And then she saw his eyes on her - he was looking at her legs, poking out of her shorts, and he was looking at where her shirt rode up, to bare her stomach.

His eyes weren’t on her breasts, at least.

She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or not.

“In a minute,” Holly said.

Ross flopped down next to her, his eyes half closed, and he gave a long, dramatic sigh.

The bed squeaked.

“Seriously?!”

Dan stood over the both of them, looking down.

Holly made a vague beckoning gesture at him.

“What’s up?”

“Either join the pile, or stop looming,” said Ross.

“I’m not looming,” Dan retorted. “I don’t have the bulk to loom.”

“Looming isn’t just about bulk,” said Holly. “The Space Needle looms, and it doesn’t really have much bulk.”

“I’ve got a space needle for ya,” Dan said, and he waggled his eyebrows.

Holly rolled her eyes, and she rolled onto her stomach. 

“Nice,” said Ross, and he gave Dan a high five.

And then there was a weight on top of Holly, and she glanced over her shoulder. 

Dan’s eyes were looking back at her, through the thick mane of his hair.

“I figured it’d be weird if I joined your cuddle pile while you were on your back, since then I might accidentally, like, grab your boob and that’d be awkward.”

“Thanks for the consideration,” Holly said, and she bit back a laugh.

Oh, Dan.

He wasn’t as heavy as she had thought he would be - maybe he was draping his upper body over her and Ross, without actually putting his weight on them.

“Your knee is, like, an inch away from my dick,” said Ross.

“I’m not gonna knee you in the balls,” Dan said, with some authority.

“If you do, will you kiss ‘em afterwards?”

There was a change in the air.

He went stiff, and Holly froze as well.

“If you asked me nice enough,” said Dan.

“How nice is nice enough?”

Ross sounded like he was just inquiring over the price of a book, instead of… well, that.

“I’d ask you to take a shower first, for starters,” said Dan. “I’m not sniffing up your ball sweat after you’ve been in a car all day.”

“It wouldn’t be my ball sweat, you’d just be kissing them,” said Ross. 

“You’re saying once I’m down on your dick you’d be fine with just a kiss?”

“I need to take a shower,” Holly told them both. “As scintillating as this conversation is.”

“That’s a nice word. I like that. Scintillating.” 

Holly snickered. 

“There’s a reason I used it,” she said. 

Ross giggled, and then he leaned in, kissing her on the temple.

Dan pressed a dry kiss to her shoulder, and Holly shivered. 

Oh.

Um.

She sighed, and then he gave her another kiss, this time on the back of her neck.

All the hair there stood on end, and she broke out in goosebumps.

He nuzzled into her hair, and she sighed at the sensation of him taking a breath.

“Are you smelling me?”

“Not on purpose,” Dan said quickly. “I mean, my face is kind of… there, and I was… taking a breath in. But… um.’ 

“It’s okay if you are,” Holly said. “I mean, um… we’re okay. We’re okay with it. I mean. Me. I’m okay with it.”

Dan kissed her again, and then he was squirming, just a bit.

… Dan had an erection.

Oh.

Um.

An erection because of her.

Or maybe because of Ross, or because of both of them?

That was… that was a trip.

Oh.

She wasn’t used to being the cause of a boner.

Well, no, tell a lie, there were way too many dudes on certain bits of reddit that talked at length about how much of a boner she gave them, but this was… different.

She knew Dan.

Dan knew her.

Maybe she was putting too much thought into all of this, and she needed to get herself out of the pile of men and go take a shower, so that she could at least get the smell of car out of herself.

“I’m gonna shower,” said Holly, and she tried to wriggle out from under him.

Dan stood up, and when Holly glanced at him, he pulled his shirt down over his belt, and she caught sight of the bulge there.

Oh.

Um.

She pressed her own thighs together, and then she was getting up, brushing herself off, and going for her suitcase.

“You two don’t do anything too crazy while I’m in there,” Holly said, and she tried not to sound too nervous.

“I won’t suck my first dick until you’re in the room with me,” Ross told her, and he was sitting up as well.

He even gave her a mock salute.

Holly groaned, and she threw a bundle of socks at him.

… and missed by a mile, getting Dan in the side of the head.

“You wound me,” Dan said, and he did an exaggerated theater fall onto the bed, which squeaked loudly, and bounced hard enough that Ross was dislodged from his comfortable spot.

His erection was almost entirely gone, and Holly wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that she had looked.

“What, by not sucking your dick when my wife isn’t around?”

Holly rolled her eyes, and took out her toiletries bag and her pajamas.

“I’ll be out soon,” she told them. 

“Have a good shower,” Dan said, and he said it so sincerely that she had to smile at him. 

“Don’t use up all the hot water,” said Ross.

“We’re in a motel. I can’t use up all the hot water.”

“Stil.”

* * * 

Holly disorbed, and she looked down at her own body.

If she’d have known that she was possibly going to be having a threesome (with Dan, even) she probably would have trimmed her bush.

… she could, theoretically, do it. 

She had a razor in there for shaving her legs.

But that would send the wrong message, if they all got naked and then she’d made her pubic hair look all nice.

But then again, what was wrong with looking like she expected sex when she was then having sex?

… maybe she was thinking too deep into it.

Did she even know how Dan preferred his partners to look?

Ross didn’t particularly care what she did with her pubic hair, which she was thankful for, and usually she didn’t care about it.

At least she’d shaved her legs the day before. 

She groaned, and she stepped into the shower.

Fuck it.

If she got naked, she’d get naked.

Dan could deal with pubic hair and leg hair - he’d been willing to kiss her when she had been driving all day.

* * *

The shower was hot, and she came out clean, smelling like her almond soap, wearing a tank top and a pair of pajama shorts.

Dan and Ross were both sitting up on the bed now, their backs to the headboard, watching television.

They were sitting hip to hip, and Dan looked a little mussed.

“We kinda made out while you were showering,” said Ross. “Um. If that’s okay.”

A little flutter of jealousy flared up in her belly, but she squashed it down.

“It’s okay,” she told them, and she padded to the edge of the bed. “Mind if I join you guys?”

“Go for it,” said Dan, and he scooted a bit to the side, making room for her.

She slid onto the bed next to him, and he leaned against her casually, as if that was just a thing they did every day.

“You smell nice,” he said, and then he paused. “That just made me sound like a serial killer, didn’t it?”

“A little bit,” Holly said, and she patted him on the knee.

“You smell nicer than the hotel soap,” Dan said, apparently deciding that if he was going to serial killer, he’d go all the way. 

“I brought my own,” said Holly. “You can use it, if you’d like.”

“I just might,” said Dan. “I tend to get allergic reactions from hotel soap.”

“You’re such a delicate flower,” said Ross, his tone affectionate.

“At least I’m not a picky eater,” Dan countered.

“You’re totally a picky eater!”

“I’ve got health related dietary restrictions! That doesn’t make me a picky eater!”

“I’ve got health related dietary restrictions too, ya know,” Ross said in a huff.

“Go take a shower,” Holly told Dan. “You smell like traveling.

“I’ll be back,” Dan said, and he gave her a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek.

Then he gave one to Ross, and he was up and off the bed, going to rummage through his suitcase, the going into the bathroom.

“Are you doing okay?”

Ross took Holly’s hand in his own, squeezing her fingers.

“Yeah,” Holly said. “Yeah, I’m okay. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” said Ross, and he gave a slightly nervous smile. “Look at it this way. I’m not nervous about presenting my series tomorrow. I’m now nervous about whether I’m about to suck my first dick.”

“Do you want to suck a dick?”

“I don’t know if I’d want to suck, like, any dick right off of the street. But I’d totally suck Dan’s dick. If he asked. Or if you asked and he asked.”

“Right,” said Holly.

“I’d like to kiss you right now,” said Ross. “If that would be okay?”

“Of course it’s okay,” said Holly. “You usually don’t ask me about kissing.”

“Well, yeah, but I was just kissing Dan. Maybe you’d feel weird about it.” 

“I kissed him too,” Holly pointed out. “So it’s not like I’m afraid of getting a cold or anything.”

“Well, yeah, okay,” said Ross, and he smiled, clearly self conscious. “Sorry. I’m… I’m new at this.”

“We both are,” Holly said, and then she leaned in and kissed him, her eyes fluttering closed, her fingers in his hair.

It was a sweet kiss - the push and pull of their mouths, the television murmuring quietly in the background, the beating of her own heart, the feeling of Ross’s breath against her own, and his hands were siding up and down her sides, as she clutched at his shirt with both hands. 

She lost track of time, her whole head full of the familiarity of him, the softness of his lips, the push and pull of it.

And then there was a sound from the side, and she pulled back, blushing and looking over her shoulder.

To see… Dan, standing in the doorway to the bathroom, steam pouring out behind him. 

The lights in the bathroom were brighter than the lights in the main room, and he looked like a painting of a saint, ringed in brightness.

He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and his long hair was pasted down from the water.

“Oh,” Dan said thickly. “Um. Sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

Ross wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. 

He wasn’t even being subtle as he ogled the long, flat planes of Dan’s torso, along Dan’s legs, to Dan’s arms, then back to his crotch, where he… definitely had an erection.

Holly at least tried not to gape.

“The shower is free,” Dan said, and he licked his lips. “I can also… go on a walk, if you guys want some privacy.”

“We don’t want privacy,” Holly said quickly. “Or at least, I don’t. If… if Ross -”

“Ross wants to take a shower,” said Ross, and then he was standing up and pulling his shirt off in one motion, “and then he’ll be back for whatever.”

“Whatever,” Holly echoed.

She should have packed pajama pants, not pajama shorts.

Not that these didn’t cover up all the bathing suit areas, but… still. 

There was a lot of bare leg, bare shoulder on display.

Holly blushed, looked at her lap, which made her notice how frayed the hem of said pajama shorts were, and also how much they rode up and clung to her thighs.

Oh _god_.

And… Ross was shirtless, making his way to the bathroom.

The door closed with a very final sort of click.

“Is it okay if I sit next to you?”

Dan indicated the empty patch of bed next to her.

He had a hand over his crotch, probably trying to look like he was being casual. 

She had a feeling it was to hide his boner.

“Sure,” she said, and she scooted over.

Dan sat next to her, and his bare arm brushed against her bare arm, and a wash of heat passed over her.

She looked over, into his face, and he gave her a nervous smile. 

“So,” he said, in a fake chipper voice. “Come here often?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like this fic?
> 
> Want me to write you something like it, or something completely different? 
> 
> Check out my tumblr, theseusinthemaze.tumblr.com! 
> 
> I take requests and talk to people there!

**Author's Note:**

> Like this fic? 
> 
> Want me to write you something like it, or something completely different?
> 
> Come talk to me on my tumblr, theseusinthemaze.tumblr.com!


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